First and foremost, I need to state that I teach what you would call "mainstream" kids. The ones who are "high achievers" are sectioned off into "AP" classes for college prep. So my mainstreamers are those who are anywhere from gifted (but don't want the AP pressure/work) to those who need serious education modifications. These kids are often precious. Sometimes they surprise me. I try my best to love them all. I teach them as much as I can squeeze into 50 minutes every day. I don't belie...

I and a handful of friends of mine have Starbucks names. You know how they ask you for your name when you get the coffee? It's fun to have a great name that's not yours but that is not anyone else's and you use it each time you go... they know you as that name if you're a regular and it's just fun to have a secret Starbucks identity. A friend of mine as been trying to get my brother to come up with a Starbucks name forever... he resists. My friend says mockingly, "But they'll KNOW who you...

I was blessed to talk with an Italian girl going to school at our high school. She was very verbal about her belief that Americans have no culture. "I knew before I came here Americans had no culture, but I had no idea it was this bad!" As someone who takes education VERY seriously and varies the nonfiction books I read into a wide range of subjects, I was a little curious about this remark. Not that long ago was I in college; there are plenty of cultured people there. I participate in co...

So you want to change your ethnicity? Tired of not being able to take pride in your cultural heritage? Maybe you just want something a little different for governmental paperwork. Don’t worry any longer! Now, for only $19.95 you can own the “Change Your Ethnicity How-To Kit!” So I noticed that some ethnicities are favored for certain things. Let’s face it: a white male is going to have a much harder time getting anything from the government than a female or a person of another ethnicity in...

When I was in college I learned that I had to spend a great deal on a course that I didn’t need. The course was a test preparation course. I was a little bitter because the college required it and I didn’t need it. I felt duly prepared for the test. I found out that the college was in trouble for one ethnicity on campus not having a 95% pass rate on the test or higher. Rather than discriminate and make only those of that ethnicity take the course, EVERYONE had to pay a hunk of cash, do the ti...

I understand the need to express individuality. I understand the urge to put decals on cars expressing opinions, accomplishments, our children's accomplishments, and God knows what all else. I have a rather nice one on my car that does none of the above, but it is nice. There is one exeption. "In Loving Memory of ______." Those are the absolute worse decals. I have so many questions. Where do I begin... First, let me say, if you have one on your car, stop reading right now. I'm ...

I thought about including this in the last article, but then I thought it would get out of hand. I researched for ideas I'd not thought of and some help in explaining pronunciation. I found people are as confused as I am. However, I did find some gold. I'm taking some Southern pronunciations form "The Southern Word" Link and eliminating the ones that are ludicrous or fixing the erroneous ones. Realize, my adaptations reflect my East Texan dialect and could be viewed as erroneous to ...

It's a fact. We all use phrases that are peculiar to our region and dialect. Amazing how even within the Amercian South, myriad dialects betray a speakers geography, quite like our UK neighbor's might. My article on proper "y'all" usage sparked a new idea. I take great joy in learning new phrases and clever ways of saying things. No, not for shock value, per se , but for the joy I get out of mastering a new phrase and incorperating its color into my speech. Yeah. I'm a nerd. Big deal. It...

Anyone who’s spent anytime on my site knows I’m a proud Southerner, ready to share the richness of our heritage. Something I’ve been meaning to write on is the amazing word “Y’all.” My daughter is watching an episode of Scooby-Doo that has a ghost of a confederate soldier in it right now. The ghost used the word “y’all.” He used it incorrectly. Now that just grates under my skin. It made me think some instruction on the word’s proper usage might be in order. “Y’all” is a contraction o...

I've been to church dinners with this one where a whole mess of us were supposed to bring Bananna pudding. Mine is always gone, despite bringing a great vat of it. Tried and proven! You'll need one can of eagle brand milk (or sweetened, condensed milk) One regular container of Whipped cream. One package of instant vanilla pudding mix (I use jello, of course) Nilla wafers (I use a box and a half. I highly recommend using 1 box regular and half box of new tiny wafers. For those of you w...

You know, as I wrote the article on the tomatoes, I found myself wanting to tell you to cook them to the color of a chicken fried steak. But then I heard you yanks saying, "what is a chicken fried steak?" You don't know what Sonic is either. Or that we have Dairy Queens, not DQs. But that's another matter, eh? Grab a tenderized beef steak from your market. Not too thick... look for the kind you'd pan fry. An okie I knew called them minute steaks. Then you wash them. Do your oil the sa...

I had to go to walmart. And BLAST it, I had to go on a Saturday, for the love of God -- Saturday!!!! This is the day when the truly interesting people come out to shop. It's like a county fair with no governmentally-recognized livestock competing for awards. Were I going for sociological (or zoological) observation, this would be a schmorgasbord. (Hoping I spelled that right...) I was preparing to turn into the next parking aisle when a teal car, piloted by a moronic driver with delusion...

Ah, the penny. The only copper coin we have, certainly making ol' Abe distinctive. They're proliferious, too! I guess that makes for an Abundant Abe as well. And they are annoying as all get-out. Don't lie. Unless your first or last name is Penny, you hate 'em. (A friend of mine got an obscenely-large lincoln tattooed on his back because his last name is... you guessed it.) You despise getting them in your change. In fact, you probably orphan them at the cash register, depositing them in t...

"BICS are cool, but CALPS rule." I wish I could properly give credit to the much-wiser-than-me lady who said this regarding ESL, but I cannot remember her name off the top of my head. My apologies. I believe her name was Lilly. Teaching English as a second language in a mainstream English class is a challenge. I'm trying to make sure my Spanish speakers are learning the CONTENT so I try to translate everything I can teach into broken (intermediate level) Spanish. Lectures, tests, notes, t...